Volkswagen strongly considered building its first U.S. automotive plant on a 1,500-acre site neart the corner of Greenbrier Road and Old Highway 20 in Limestone County. The City of Huntsville is interested in having the property certified as a TVA Megasite for large-scale manufacturing. (The Huntsville Times/Michael Mercier)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- When Volkswagen officials toured the 1,500-acre Sewell farm in eastern Limestone County in 2008, the property had yet to be studied for soil contamination and a host of other potential hidden problems.

"We told them we could have power to them by a certain date, but we couldn't tell them all the facts about the property," Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle recalled Wednesday.

Volkswagen ended up building its first U.S. automotive plant at a site in Chattanooga, Tenn., that had been painstakingly vetted by an army of geotechnical engineers and consultants.

Chattanooga, rather than Huntsville, reaped the economic benefits of a $1 billion factory that employs 2,700 people churning out VW's Passat sedan. Another 800 high-paying jobs are being added as part of an expansion announced last month.

With Audi and Volvo both reportedly on the lookout for U.S. manufacturing sites, Battle and local economic development officials are determined to get the Sewell farm back in play.

Last fall, the city began quietly gathering data needed to have the Greenbrier Road property certified as a Tennessee Valley Authority Megasite -- the program that helped Chattanooga land VW.

In February, the city hired former Huntsville Planning Director Dallas Fanning as a $200-an-hour consultant to assist the Megasite effort. It is also paying the Barge Waggoner Sumner and Cannon engineering firm $212,000 to produce detailed topographical maps of the Sewell property, which was annexed into the city several years ago..

Shane Davis, Huntsville's director of urban development, said he hopes to submit a request for Megasite consideration in the next 60 days.

The McCallum Sweeney site selection firm from Greenville, S.C., would then comb through the Sewell property to see if it qualifies. Davis said he hopes to have an answer by late summer.

Megasite status "essentially gives a stamp of approval that the site is development-ready," Davis said Thursday.

Five of the eight industrial Megasites certified by TVA since the program began have sold.

VW bought in Chattanooga. Hemlock Semiconductor chose Clarksville, Tenn., north of Nashville. Toyota went to Tupelo, Miss. Heavy-duty truck manufacturer PACCAR and SeverCorr, which specializes in recycled steel, both settled in Columbus, Miss.

Megasites remain on the market in Hopkinsville, Ky., and Stanton, Tenn., half an hour east of Memphis.

The lone TVA Megasite in Alabama - located off Interstate 65 about six miles south of Athens -- lost its certification when the owners declined to renew an option agreement with the Limestone County Economic Development Association.

Tom Hill, the association's president, said he is "very much in support" of the Sewell farm becoming a Megasite.

Although Huntsville would feel the most direct economic impact as the rolling farm is transformed into a manufacturing hub, Hill said at least some of the labor force would come from Limestone County.

"It's going to be a huge growth area," he said Thursday. "I think Huntsville sees that vision and is being proactive so they'll be ready for opportunities when they come along."

Huntsville Director of Urban Development Shane Davis

Davis said the Megasite program requires a slew of studies to ensure that the Sewell property is "environmentally and archaeologically clean." Water pressure, the load-bearing characteristics of the soil and master plans for road and utility upgrades would also be part of the report.

Huntsville envisions two major roads -- a four-lane divided boulevard called Greenbrier Parkway and a proposed shortcut between I-65 and I-565 -- meeting strategically at the Sewell farm.

Also, Davis said Norfolk Southern has a preliminary design to add rail service to the site.

Battle said getting TVA Megasite status would put Huntsville "in a much better negotiating position" if a large manufacturer again shows interest in the Sewell farm.

"If you can answer all their questions," he said, "you're a step ahead of other communities."

The Megasite label "makes companies more comfortable with the site and the decision that they're making," Chip Cherry, president and CEO of the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce, said Wednesday.

"It's basically certifying that a vast majority of the variables that could impact the company's ability to build on that site have been addressed," said Cherry.

The city's Industrial Development Board has been paying the Sewell family $300,000 a year to keep the land under option for future industrial use. The current option expires in December, but Davis said the two sides are negotiating a possible extension through 2014.

"We're confident we'll get there," he said. "The Sewell family has been fantastic through this process."